RC Mowers
RC Mowers has hired several new employees to its development and production teams.
Matt Burton and Adela Kadiasi (top), Becca Hovell and Megan Rakow (bottom) Matt Burton, senior electrical engineer. Burton is working on hardware design and software development for the Autonomous Mowing Robot (AMR). He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Madison with a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in electrical engineering.
- Adela Kadiasi, software developer/project manager. Kadiasi is the project manager for the technology team and is leading the software development sprints and various technical documentation projects. She has two master’s degrees in computer engineering from Albania and a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin Green Bay.
- Megan Rakow, software developer. Rakow is working on graphic design and developing skills to provide back-end writing for RC Mowers. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Whitewater with a bachelor’s degree in arts and communication with an emphasis on media arts and game development.
- Becca Hovell, human resources manager. Hovell spent more than seven years in HR and is the president-elect of the Fox Valley Society for Human Resource Management. She is a graduate from Rasmussen College with a bachelor’s degree in HR management and organizational development.
RC Mowers has also hired several new employees for their factory, including Grant Reiser, production technician; Erin Stuewer, incoming and receiving inspector; Andrew Frailing, part-time factory worker; Bradley Anthony, production technician and Joshua Scoon, assembly technician.
Sod Solutions
Martín Ignes has joined Sod Solutions as the new Director of Retail and Professional Development for Florida. He has an undergraduate degree in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina and a master’s degree from Mississippi State University in Plant and Soil Sciences with a Weed Science Concentration.
Ignes will help continue to build Sod Solutions relationships with authorized distributors, preferred installers and licensed turfgrass producers throughout FL. He will help to increase communication and education of Sod Solutions brands within the FL market.
Central Turf & Irrigation Supply
Central Turf & Irrigation Supply, a North American customer-focused wholesale distributor of irrigation and landscape supplies, announced that Ryan Batz has joined the team as the new Turf Category Director for Fertilizer. In this role, Batz will focus on strategic growth for the fertilizer program within the category— bringing the best products, resources, and training to Central’s customers alongside the turf team of directors.
Ryan has a B.S. in Turfgrass Management from Pennsylvania State University. He is a GCSAA Class A Member with 6 years’ experience as the US Technical Director for Ferti Technologies. In addition, he brings to the team 11 years as a Golf Course Superintendent and was a former owner/operator of GreenKeepers Lawn Care. During his career, Ryan has also been in sales as a Golf Technical Sales representative in the NY Metropolitan area.
Altoz
Altoz, Inc. announced today that Ryan Garrelts joined the team as District Sales Manager for Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, southern Mississippi and Alabama. Garrelts brings several years of territory management experience and proven sales growth in the outdoor power equipment sector.
“Ryan’s proven track record and growth-driven mindset are great fits for his new role at Altoz. He is eager to build dealer relationships, grow the Altoz brand and increase dealership sales and profitability,” said Karl Bjorkman, Sales and Marketing Director.
Davey Tree Expert
The Davey Tree Expert Company has announced the promotions of Chris Bast to senior vice president, treasury and operations support, Paul Milano to vice president, operations support services and procurement and Tim Walsh to vice president, health and safety.
Chris Bast
Bast joined Davey in 2013 as treasurer before being promoted to vice president and treasurer in 2017. He earned bachelor’s degrees in both accounting and business management from Kent State University. Bast is a certified public accountant (CPA) and a certified treasury professional (CTP).
Paul Milano
Milano began his Davey career in 2015 as corporate fleet manager, and he was promoted to director of fleet operations in 2017. In his new role, he will continue to oversee key corporate fleet administrative functions as well as have oversight of purchasing.
Tim Walsh
Walsh joined Davey in 2015 as safety manager, corporate safety and was promoted to director, corporate safety in 2018. Walsh earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in urban forestry from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He earned a master’s degree in ergonomics from the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Ruppert Landscape
Ruppert Landscape has recently named Mike Felts to the position of regional vice president in the company’s landscape construction division.
In this role, he will be overseeing the MD and NC branches and working closely with those teams to ensure continued financial success, client satisfaction, and employee well-being. He has held numerous positions during his 12 years with the company, including estimator, production manager, operations manager, branch manager, corporate administrative manager, and most recently as vice president of human relations.
Marvin Clermont has recently been promoted to branch manager in Ruppert’s Nashville, TN branch. In his new role, Marvin will oversee all planning, budgeting, and personnel development in the branch and ensure customer satisfaction on all landscape construction projects within the Nashville region.
Marvin holds a master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Florida State University. He garnered several years of community development and project management experience before joining Ruppert’s MD landscape construction branch in 2015 as an assistant project manager. He was promoted to production manager before transferring to the GA landscape construction branch in 2017, where he served as a project manager for two years before being promoted to operations manager in early 2020. In 2021, he took the opportunity to relocate to Nashville to help open the satellite office in the role of associate branch manager.
System Pavers
System Pavers announced Brent Schaefer as the newest addition to its leadership team to support continued expansion. As Chief Growth Officer, Schaefer will lead System Pavers’ national expansion plans, building upon a highly successful 2022 with continued momentum into 2023 and beyond. This new C-suite role is a strategic next step after a record-breaking year and recent expansion into the Phoenix, AZ market.
As CGO, Schaefer will work with team members across the organization to orchestrate growth initiatives, and accelerate the playbook to enter new markets efficiently, consistently and successfully.
Schill Grounds Management
Schill Grounds Management has promoted four leaders in the company to senior positions in recognition of their contributions to the growth of the business and greater responsibilities in their roles.
The four leaders being promoted are:
- Patrick Quinlan, Director of Mergers & Acquisitions
- Bryan Salisbury, Corporate Controller
- Cali Thomson, Vice President of Sales & Marketing
- Mary Vales, Vice President of Human Resources
Quinlan joined Schill in 2022 as Corporate Development Manager, and in that role he assisted in the acquisitions and integration of Grounds Elite, TLC, and GrassCor (which Schill finalized in January 2023). In his new role as Director of M&A, he will oversee the build out and tracking of the acquisition pipeline, and refine Schill’s acquisition strategy for prospect identification, due diligence, integration, and post-closing performance benchmarking.
Salisbury became Schill’s Corporate Controller in late 2022, and he oversees the day-to-day accounting and controller functions, including accounts receivable, accounts payable, and the month-end close. His responsibilities include ensuring smooth integration of the accounting and cash management functions of businesses that Schill acquires, and proactively targeting opportunities for streamlining and improving current processes, functions, platforms, and dashboards.
Thomson has been with Schill since 2019 when she joined the company as Marketing Director. She has taken on increasingly complex duties including supporting strategic sales initiatives and marketing campaigns, deployment of new technology platforms, search engine optimization and inbound marketing leads, branding and co-branding companies that Schill acquires, and engagement with employees and commercial customers.
Vales joined Schill in 2022 as Vice President of Human Resources, and she oversees the entire team of 1,100 employees who are now part of the Schill family of companies. She is responsible for smoothly integrating HR functions of businesses Schill has acquired, and setting and implementing HR policies and processes for benefits, recruiting, onboarding, offboarding, career development, and other core functions.
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